Intermittent electrical issues

[T_E]

I have had several issues with my 2012 Equus Ultimate with 26,000 miles that I would appreciate some input on. I purchased the car three years ago with 4,600 miles.

I travel a lot with a company vehicle; this car is stored for 1-3 months at a time.

Yesterday, I removed the battery tender after one month's storage.

There was no response to the remote for about 30 seconds after removal of the tender. While I'm not sure, this may be due to the car shutting off accessories to minimize battery drain.

I started the car and about 10 minutes later, the music DVD started playing without any action on my part. I had shut off the car a month earlier while listening to music and it didn't fire up right away. Afterward the unit worked normally. (Note: About a year earlier, the DVD player quit working and took a 1/2 hour wait and a restart to get going again.)

About two months ago, the sunshade wouldn't operate. After restart of the car, it worked normally and has since. The dealer said to wait for a hard failure.

The driver's side power window switch wouldn't respond until after a restart and the dealer replaced the switch. No further issues.

Lastly, a couple of years ago, I had one incident where the car's ignition quit when making a 20 mph left hand turn. After coasting to a stop, the car restarted immediately and it has not happened since.

All incidents except yesterday's remote delay and resumption of the DVD music playing have been reported to the dealer and/or the Equus hotline.

This car's bumper to bumper warranty expires in two months, while the drivetrain warranty has 14 months to go.

I'm concerned about these electrical glitches and am wondering if other owners have had similar issues that were repaired successfully.

Any comments from other owners would be appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

 

[Mark_888]

The bumper to bumper warranty should be 5 years or 60K miles, whichever comes first. This is valid for any subsequent owner of the car.

If you bought a CPO (certified pre-owned) vehicle from a Hyundai dealer, the drivetrain warranty is 10 years or 100K miles (the dealer has to pay a fee to Hyundai Motor America to get the CPO designation), otherwise it is the same as the bumper to bumper warranty.

If you are talking about concierge service, that may end after 3 years or 36K miles, but you can still take it to a dealer for the warranty service.

 

[PMCErnie]

The bottom line is that you are going to have to purchase an extended warranty if you are planning to keep the car. Otherwise, in two months, any repair burdens will be on your shoulders. Keep in mind that your dealer will need to inspect your car before giving you the warranty, so it might not be a good idea to protest too much about gremlins at this point.

 

[turnne]

I have had several issues with my 2012 Equus Ultimate with 26,000 miles that I would appreciate some input on. I purchased the car three years ago with 4,600 miles.

I travel a lot with a company vehicle; this car is stored for 1-3 months at a time.

Yesterday, I removed the battery tender after one month's storage.

There was no response to the remote for about 30 seconds after removal of the tender. While I'm not sure, this may be due to the car shutting off accessories to minimize battery drain.

I started the car and about 10 minutes later, the music DVD started playing without any action on my part. I had shut off the car a month earlier while listening to music and it didn't fire up right away. Afterward the unit worked normally. (Note: About a year earlier, the DVD player quit working and took a 1/2 hour wait and a restart to get going again.)

About two months ago, the sunshade wouldn't operate. After restart of the car, it worked normally and has since. The dealer said to wait for a hard failure.

The driver's side power window switch wouldn't respond until after a restart and the dealer replaced the switch. No further issues.

Lastly, a couple of years ago, I had one incident where the car's ignition quit when making a 20 mph left hand turn. After coasting to a stop, the car restarted immediately and it has not happened since.

All incidents except yesterday's remote delay and resumption of the DVD music playing have been reported to the dealer and/or the Equus hotline.

This car's bumper to bumper warranty expires in two months, while the drivetrain warranty has 14 months to go.

I'm concerned about these electrical glitches and am wondering if other owners have had similar issues that were repaired successfully.

Any comments from other owners would be appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

The first thing I would suspect is your battery
I know you said you have a battery tender..but IME when cars with a lot of electrical gadgets start to have freakish issues like what you describe a new battery often solves the problem

On the warranty...as has been mentioned you have a 5 year 60K bumper to bumper on the Equus
You can call Hyundai and find out when the car's original in service date is

On another note...My driving of my Equus is going to be very similar to yours
There will be points where the car is not started/driven for weeks at a time and at no point will it be driven daily
I did do the factory wrap of the 10 year 120K coverage
Perhaps I will be glad I did

Warren

 

[T_E]

Thanks, everyone!

Good points....

The car had a new battery installed 2/2014 under warranty. Voltage looks good according to the radar detector's reading, but I also have a load meter that I can hook up if the voltage is less than 12.8v or so.

I am averaging 7300 miles per year, so if I went with a warranty, I'd probably go with a 10 year 70k-80k if I could get one for $1500 or less.

Thomas

 

[edward301]

I am kind of thinking your battery tender may be keeping the battery
voltage to high, which electronics do not like.

I sometimes do not drive my car for 2 weeks, and do not have any
low battery issues.

Maybe if you do not use the battery tender, and start your car
every two weeks, and see what happens.

Have you also checked some of your battery negative ground
connections to make sure none are corroded, or loose.

 

[T_E]

It appears that the recent issues were caused by low key fob batteries. They were down to 2.6v. The car did not recognize the fob after being used a couple days earlier requiring said fob to be inserted into the glove box socket. Seems to work like a charm now!

Thanks again to everyone who replied.